PostIt® blog-toon

PostIt® blog-toon
Originally uploaded by idogcow

Going through some old Flickr pictures and came across these, scanned as a group for everyone's convenience. Still trying to figure out what was up with the neck of the margarine-hater.

Typedia: a Font Wiki

Things I learned today about Times New Roman thanks to Typedia:

Times New Roman made its world debut in the October 3rd 1932 issue of The Times (of London) newspaper. After one year the design was released for commercial sale. The Times stayed with Times New Roman for some 40 years, but new production techniques combined with a format change from broadsheet to tabloid in 2004 have caused the newspaper to switch font five times since 1972. All the new fonts have been variants of the original New Roman font, however.

So now you know, too! Now back to reading up on more fun fonts!

can you spare the time

Wearing a watch has become a fashion statement now that we carry a mobile phone everywhere we go and our computers display it on the menu bar. I have caught myself repeatedly looking at the top margins of the newspaper expecting to see the time displayed like it was an iPhone.

So if you are going to wear a watch that makes a statement, shouldn't it be the one watch everyone thinks of when you think luxury watch? Yes, I am talking Rolex here but what if I told you there were luxury watches that didn't cost a fortune but were the real deal, not a cheap copy.

Atlanta's 'Best of Time' offers genuine Rolex watches at a discount because they are an independent dealer of gently used pre-owned Rolex watches. Prices you have to see to believe on the world’s best luxury Rolex watches, thanks to their receiving their Rolex watches in specific quantities. Internet sales also allow a low markup with the savings passed directly to you. As always, All Watches are 100% Genuine Certified & Authentic. With a 3 year warranty and free FEDEX shipping.

See for yourself at www.bestoftime.com and begin the act of telling time start telling something about you.

Taptaptap iPhone App Design Evoltion

[iphone]

Think designing a great looking app is easy? Watch the evolution of Convert the unit converter. 390 days from their first Skitch session to delivery – about as long as a human baby. Thankfully you can really see they took their "time and did it right instead of rushing it."

Convert Design Evolution from tap tap tap on Vimeo.

http://bit.ly/48m1a8

Curl Up With a Good Book

Finally, after 748 pages I have come to the most frustrating sentence in the all of Christopher Paolini's Brisingr:

HERE ENDS THE THIRD BOOK
OF THE INHERITANCE CYCLE.
THE STORY WILL CONTINUE AND CONCLUDE
IN BOOK FOUR.

If you only saw the movie you really need to read all 3, er 4 books.

iCarly

Carly Fiorina has announced that she plans to challenge Barbara Boxer in 2010, but as Jon Carroll points out:

Fiorina may be a candidate, but she ain't a voter. Records show that she voted in just five of the past 18 elections since she registered in Santa Clara County in 2000.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/20/DDMS19APUA.DTL&feed=rss.jcarroll#ixzz0OmJ4CVMm

looking for a good time

Perhaps I should rephrase that – are you looking for a good watch to tell you the time? Click over to the Watch Wearhouse and see their selection and great prices.

Stop using your phone as a watch and dress up that outfit, people DO notice and the watch you wear tells a great deal about you, ask anyone.

A Tiki Tour of New Zealand

Thanks to the Post Office, you can embark on ‘A Tiki Tour of New Zealand’, from the comfort of your very own stamp album.

A stunning new edition of 24 stamps has been designed to capture the ‘get up and go’ spirit of the classic Kiwi Tiki tour, celebrating so many of the home-grown fascinations across the land. The unique wildlife, landscapes, buildings, statues and industries of New Zealand are all here.

So if you’re keen to have a quick Tiki tour, you’d better be quick and get your sheet of stamps now.

Ed Reimers – RIP

Was trying to figure out just who Ed Reimers was after I read his obituary in the local paper and they mentioned his part in Star Trek - turns out he was Admiral Fitzpatrick in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Trouble with Tribbles".

He also was the voice of Allstate insurance and a quick search of YouTube found this clip and a super cool story:

In the 1960s, after a kitchen fire, Allstate selected our story for a commercial. I recently contacted them on their website and they sent me the video immediately. The color has faded and the audio has changed over time, so this is not how my mother's voice sounded. It is the only video we have of her so I was thrilled when Allstate was so great about sending it to me.

Not Hiring

Best job ever is not mine (nor did I apply): Google Street View Bike Team tours LEGOLAND to map out the Park.



I wonder how soon this will be up and live?

http://bit.ly/14Tms4

He's In Control

Congrats to Hulu on a great new web series, CTRL starring the very funny Tony Hale (Arrested Development) where the office nerd discovers his product placement damaged keyboard can manipulate time and reality. Suddenly he can control his boss and influence his coworkers, but can he win his dream girl?

A suggestion to make things easier on the late-comers: don't show the same ad in front of EVERY EPISODE, especially when the ad is almost as long as the short.

Just saying is all.

–Forgive my brevity, this was sent via Newton 2.0 (iPod Touch v1.x)

Nostalgia

"I Want My America Back." said the protester. Jon Carroll wants his American back, too. One where:

a time before corporate America had an absolute grip on American politics, and advertising was used to sell soap and toothpaste rather than politicians and political ideas. It would be nice to live in a time when foolish bankers and investment brokers couldn't bring the economy to a standstill.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/18/DD4N198P9O.DTL&feed=rss.jcarroll#ixzz0OXdLPDSS

 

bird on a wire

There's a very popular movie service these days that will let you bring movies right into your home with almost no effort to you, unless of course you are interested in something a little more, ahem, adult in nature. For those movies you needed to be a little more creative and know where in town to shop and how not to be seen.

Well, not any more. Now that there's Fyre.tv – Stream Adult TV right to your bedroom and Watch Adult TV Stations on your TV instantly without the time consuming downloading process. Search through thousands of titles from the classics to today’s best sellers. There's over 20,000 titles available in the system, plus with their advanced search filters (for the type of movie, star, category, scene or studio) you'll find something to watch in no time. Fast forward or rewind as you please, save any movie or scene to your custom play lists or favorites menu for easy viewing access.And best of all – you only pay for what you play. Even the fast forwarding time is only charged as the time spent fast forwarding, not the actual movie running time, how great is that?

Just plug the FyreTV BoXXX into your Internet service via Ethernet or WiFi setup and connect to your television then turn on the system that turns you on.

Disney Haunted Mansion Turns 40

There's a party going on this September 9th (09-09-09) but sadly I won't be attending, but I still can drool over the limited edition merchandise up for sale in Anaheim. Been a while since I have worn high-tops this colorful but there are some rather clever Mansion Wallpaper themed sneakers but what I wish I could afford is this Attic Bride Charm Bracelet.

Designed by Karyn Cantor from Classic Hardware and featuring Attic Scene Portraits, it's going for $175 and limited to an edition size of 999.

blog party for Taylor

Friend is having a 'blog party' for their daughters first birthday and needed help to promote it! Yes, the Blog Party Needing Promotion!.

Celebrate with a week of giveaways with one main post to enter all contests, but "they need your help getting comments on the posts for the party!"

Dairy Section Goodness

Behold part of my nutritious lunch today, Lucerne brand light yogurt in the newest flavour: Yumberry Grapefruit. Possible the oddest name in consumer products since the infamous & delicious "Sharkleberry Fin".

Ingredient include, "Yumberry Grapefruit base" which contains among other things, pink grapefruit juice, yumberry juice and lemon pulp cells.

Call it what you like, I call it crazy good.

ReWritable CD 650 MB

I guess back in 1998 this is how you had to sell people on the benefits of a CD-RW. And yes, it is an an individual jewel box as well. Not as cool as the jewel boxes that held the 800k floppies, but then again what is?

Fun With Agriculture

The first known tangelo was made by Dr. Walter T. Swingle of the USDA in 1897.

He submitted this paper to the USDA Farmer's Bulletin, which seeing as I am 12 years old, caught my eye:


In case you can't read it, it regards the loose smut of oats.

Sláinte Guinness!

Specially created for the anniversary, the 250 Anniversary Stout is supposed to be distinctly Guinness albeit with a twist. The "unique brewhouse process" is said to blend two malt types to create "an original experience with the hints of tradition." A crisp finish thanks to carbonation rather than the familiar nitrogenated feel, too.

Available at select stores and bars, while they last. Taste a beer created with the express purpose of celebrating 250 years of perfection.

.

keep entering canada

Canadian readers, this is your reminder to enter the contest to win one of three $10,000 cash prizes, Sony Digital Camcorders or an instant product prizes from Stouffer's Panini.

Stouffer's Panini celebrates the release of four all new varieties of Paninis: Bistro Meatballs & Peppers, Bistro Chicken Souvlaki, Lean Cuisine Grilled Vegetables & Goat Cheese and Lean Cuisine Mango Chicken Tikka.

There are three Grand Prizes: your choice of a dream trip to India, Greece, Italy or France destinations via a $10,000 Gift Card.

There's also twelve Sony Digital Camcorders (A $500 value) and loads of Daily Instant Prizes of Free Stouffers-paninis.

Just register here for your first free entry, then enter one UPC code entry per day, provided you are a Canadian resident (I know).

All You Can Jet

Oh man – there was a time in my grad school days that I would have jumped at this:

...unlimited travel with our All-You-Can-Jet Pass! For just $599* you can take JetBlue anywhere you like, as often as you like, from September 8 to October 8, 2009. Use your All-You-Can-Jet Pass for business, for pleasure, to visit your favorite cities or to meet with a client...

I would go from Hard Rock to Hard Rock or Apple Store to Apple Store. You know someone is going to and have a mighty blog-worth of reports to file, sleeping at airports, etc.

oh that smell

It is funny how smells can stay with you for a long long time. The other day we were touring a day-care center and I guess they were making lunch and somehow the smell of tater-tots took me back to every school cafeteria I have been in from grade school to college. I was seriously tempted to ask them if we could sample the lunch just to make sure of their quality.

I don't know if anyone has made a perfume that smells like potatoes although I do know they make perfume that smells like Playdoh. I am not so sure how well that would translate to someone wearing it but it certainly would be a signature scent. I can still close my eyes and see the face of the person who wore L'air Du Temps – I should see if the note they wrote me and dabbed with it still smells like it.

I should see if this online perfume shop carries it and how much it would cost. Perhaps it's nostalgia and perhaps it just smells good to me?

Knut ♥ Gianna

klein Knut , little icebear baby knut
Originally uploaded by ~babsy~

Knut, Berlin's most famous polar bear, is now 2 and will soon be joined in Berlin by Gianna, a female companion originally from Italy.

The two-year-old Gianna, named after Italian rock singer Gianna Nannini, will be moved from Hellabrunn zoo in Munich in mid-September according to the daily Tagesspiegel said, citing a zoo official. Her stay in Berlin is expected to be temporary.

home sweet home alarm

Have you noticed an uptick in the amount of petty crimes lately or is it just me and or the news papers reporting more on these sort of things? Regardless, we have been setting the home alarm system much more often than we used to. Maybe it is just a matter of, "we are paying for this, might as well use it," combined with the discount we get of the home owner's insurance for having the system in place.

I like the idea of having our home monitored 24/7 but I didn't know ADT is able to handle everything from severe weather events to computer crashes without losing contact with your home due to their 4 inter-connected locations across the United States, something a company with only one monitoring center can't do if its one center suffers an outage.

We have had one call from the alarm company and fortunately that was a false alarm set off by the team working on on floors and my fault for not setting the alarm properly. For more home safety tips, check out the link and start sleeping better tonight!

These Kids Today

So Target is all, "Back to College," right now and full of cubes and boxes to organize your dorm room, beer label door mats and Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd 'Dark Side of the Moon' posters. Are today's youth actually listening to this kind of music or is it the wall equivalent of the Che Guevara t-shirt?

St Peter & the Old Couple

The couple were 85 years old and had been married for sixty years. Though they were far from rich, they managed to get by because they watched their pennies.


Though not young, they were both in very good health, largely due to the wife's insistence on healthy foods and exercise for the last decade. One day, their good health didn't help when they went on a rare vacation and their plane crashed, sending them off to Heaven.


They reached the pearly gates, and St.Peter escorted them inside. He took them to a beautiful mansion, furnished in gold and fine silks, with a fully stocked kitchen and a waterfall in the master bath. A maid could be seen hanging their favourite clothes in the closet. They gasped in astonishment when he said, 'Welcome to Heaven. This will be your home now.'


The old man asked Peter how much all this was going to cost. 'Why, nothing,' Peter replied, 'remember, this is your reward in Heaven.' The old man looked out the window and right there he saw a championship golf course, finer and more beautiful than any ever built on Earth.
'What are the greens fees?,' grumbled the old man.
'This is heaven,' St. Peter replied. 'You can play free, every day.'


Next they went to the clubhouse and saw the lavish buffet lunch, with every imaginable cuisine laid out before them, from seafood to steaks to exotic deserts, free flowing beverages.
'Don't even ask,' said St. Peter to the man. This is Heaven, it is all free for you to enjoy.'
The old man looked around and glanced nervously at his wife. 'Well, where are the low fat and low cholesterol foods and the decaffeinated tea?,' he asked.
That's the best part,' St. Peter replied. 'You can eat and drink as much as you like of whatever you like and you will never get fat or sick. This is Heaven!'


The old man pushed, 'No gym to work out at?'
'Not unless you want to,' was the answer.
'No testing my sugar or blood pressure or...'
'Never again. All you do here is enjoy yourself.'

The old man glared at his wife and said, 'You and your f*ing Bran Flakes. We could have been here ten years ago!'

"This joke featured on Farplace Animal Rescue www.farplace.org.uk, the no kill animal sanctuary. Please visit their website to see what they do and lots of easy ways to help like recycling for free."

Realistic

Jimmy Johnson of Arlo and Janis fame quite often has some interesting takes on life and the times we live in. Today he reminded me of the wall of adapters and the Battery Club at RadioShack.

RadioShack is changing its name to “The Shack” in an attempt to survive by appearing cooler? From the accounts I perused, it’s unclear whether the name change is official or whether it’s simply a case of a lonely retailer anointing its ownself with an affectionate nickname. I’m sure the facts are there if you care to dig deeper.

It is all understandable. RadioShack began life as a supplier of vaccuum tubes for ham radio enthusiasts, the technology geeks of 1920. This was before commercial radio, folks! Now, RadioShack is competing with the likes of Best Buy to sell heaven-knows-what to “consumers.” Part of the plan is to further de-emphasize the electronic-parts business and concentrate even more on the latest must-have device that everyone is walking around fiddling with. I wish them well.

I’m not sure how RadioShack has managed to stay afloat as long as it has, and I will admit that if they had to depend on the likes of me they’d have gone dark decades ago. However, I do love a store where you can wander around and be intrigued by “parts” and say things like, “I didn’t know you could buy those!”

legends of the fall

Laptops have so replaced desktops in computer sales, I can't think of anyone in the lab when choosing a new machine has picked something that MUST sit on a desk, I wonder if the term 'Home Computer' will mean anything to the next generation of school-bound kids.

Some reasons for the shift has got to include the mobile lifestyle we all seem to a part of as well as one of a more basic reason: the price. Why buy a monitor and all the add-ons for a desk-top when a single small notebook will fill the bill - frequently for well under a thousand dollars.

Well, how about if you don't have to pay anyhting at all for your next computer? From July 15 through September 15, Charter is running their Laptop-a-Day Sweepstakes! A new promotion that is giving away a laptop computer every day – and they have extended it for another 2 months! Winners can get an HP 550 Notebook 15-inch with Windows Vista and a NeoTec Compu Backpack and gift cards ranging in value from $25-$100 with special online deals. Visit charter.com/laptop to register today and to view the complete rules, a list of winners, details on the notebook computer and more.

For contest and other news from Charter Communications, follow Charter on Facebook or follow
Charter on Twitter.

40 Years Ago

While Rolling Stone magazine initially gave the Beetle's Abbey Road album a mixed reception, nobody can deny the photograph taken by Scottish photographer Iain Macmillan at 11:30am on 8 August, 40 years ago, of the four Beatles walking across a pedestrian crossing in London has become one of their most successful albums and one of the most iconic photos of the group.

"There's a sketch Paul McCartney did with four little stick men crossing the Zebra," says Brian Southall, author of the history of Abbey Road Studios. At half past eleven the Fab Four walked out of No 3 Abbey Road, having finished basic work on what would be - and they subsequently said they knew would be - their last album.

Macmillan was given about 15 minutes, stood on a stepladder while a policeman held up the traffic, the band walked back and forth a few times and that was that.

He took seven or eight pictures, fascinating for their difference (Paul is wearing sandals!) to the end product we all know.

'Twilight' Tourism Boom

Fans of the Twilight books and movies are making pilgrimages to the Washington state locations mentioned in their favorite novels have led to jaw-dropping numbers at the Forks Visitor Center, says Marcia Bingham, chamber executive director.

A total of 16,186 people passed through the Visitor Center in July, doubling June's number of 8,702, in one month nearly reaching the entire year's total for 2008 – 18,485 people.

The visitors come up with some 'interesting' questions, including:

• Is it safe to go camping with the vampire problems in the area?

• Where is Port Townsend, and is it anywhere near Forks?

• When do the deer turn into elk? (Bingham's favorite)


While none of the movies were filmed in Forks – and none of the future ones are likely to be – the important thing locals say is to make sure that Twilight is always associated with Forks.

let the great taste take you away

Last night I had a dream that I was in Manhaten having dinner at Schwab's Pharmacy – which makes no sense as Schwab's was at 8024 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood and it closed in 1983 and the building was demolished in 1988. (A historical side note: the Virgin Megastore that took its place also has closed.) Nevertheless, food and travel seemed to fill my dreams last night.

Now, food and travel can, provided you live in Canada, make your dreams come true as well! In honor of the launch of 4 new varieties of globally-inspired Stouffer's Paninis (Bistro Meatballs & Peppers, Bistro Chicken Souvlaki, Lean Cuisine Grilled Vegetables & Goat Cheese, Lean Cuisine Mango Chicken Tikka), you have the opportunity to win cash, prizes and Panini Products instantly Enter today to instantly win one of three $10,000 prizes to take the trip of your dreams to your choice of India, Greece, Italy or France. There are also 12 Sony Digital Camcorders plus daily instant prizes for free Stouffer’s food.

If you haven't tried a Stouffers-panini recently then you are in for a treat. They're great for a light dinner, a quick work lunch or a snack after working hard around the house. So easy to make and so good, keep several on hand for those days when cooking just won't cut it.

So if you are in Canada, all you need to do to enter, is just register here and you automatically get one free entry into the drawing, and a UPC code gives you one entry per day.

Morning View

Sitting in the dining room looking into the back-yard and watching the cats. The male just took off like a rifle shot into the neighbor's backyard and the female is looking rather alert but does seem to feel the same need to run 'round.

Actually she looks rather comfortable in her spot in the flower bed and looks like she's going to setting in for a while.

The newest indoor member is unimpressed with both the outdoor doings AND this post and has wandered off again.

Love's Baby Soft Mist

Love's Baby Soft Mist
Originally uploaded by twitchery

Well this is awkward.

Odd Situation Made Worse

Last night 'The Jonas Brothers' were in town, to sing I would have to assume. Needless to say the train was packed with young girls and I guess their young moms. The air was full of cheap perfume and pre-teen sexual angst. (Is there a female equivalent to Axe Body Spray? Cody? Loves Baby Soft?)

Then I overheard this, "you know, I'm about the age where I could hit on either the mom or the daughter."

Ick.

find you favorite host

You probably already have a web host but are you getting the best treatment? The best service? The most for your money? For now we are all using the same internet so why pay more for your host when chances are you could do better? Even if you are a hundred percent happy, you owe it to yourself and your employees and your customers to see this list of the best web hosting awards winner.

Read an independent customer-driven rating of top ten web hosting companies, one based on you, the customer's satisfaction, affordability, reliability, up-time and tech support. The biggest searchable web hosting directory is at Web Hosting Rating and features complete information on all web hosting providers, their web hosting plans, promotional and discount coupons, and unedited reviews by real customers.

Read from their extensive article database and see how you can (and you know you should) be getting more for less, today!

Oh My!

MSNBC's Countdown Remembers Sarah

Sarah Palin's greatest hits. Oh Sarah, how can we miss you if you won't go away?

Had forgotten about many of these, so perhaps it will be instructional to take a look back at the campaign and the days and weeks following it. Enjoy and pass it along.

wishing for a home away from home

Not going to make it to Europe this year but between re-reading the Richard Scary books and having a few hours on the ground in a the Zurich airport going to and coming back from Berlin last year I have been really really wanting to have some time away from work in Switzerland. I don't know how they do it but even their airport views make the country look cool, clean and inviting.

On top of that, today I found out about Typically Swiss Hotels where as they promise: service that is a touch more personal, an atmosphere that is authentic, food that is surprisingly down to earth – Typically Swiss is no empty promise, but rather the badge of honor for a hotel experience to be had only in Switzerland.